Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Cryosectioning and Immunostaining Mouse Inner Ear Tissue: From Embryonic to Adult Stages
Published on: April 11, 2025
The socioeconomic impact of hearing loss in U.S. adults
Susan D Emmett1, Howard W Francis
1*Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; †Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
Objective:
To evaluate the associations between hearing loss and educational attainment, income, and unemployment/underemployment in U.S. adults.
Study Design:
National cross-sectional survey.
Setting:
Ambulatory examination centers.
Patients:
Adults aged 20 to 69 years who participated in the 1999 to 2002 cycles of the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) audiometric evaluation and income questionnaire (N = 3,379).
Intervention(S):
Pure-tone audiometry, with hearing loss defined by World Health Organization criteria of bilateral pure-tone average of more than 25 dB (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz).
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Low educational attainment, defined as not completing high school; low income, defined as family income less than $20,000 per year; and unemployment or underemployment, defined as not having a job or working less than 35 hours per week.
Results:
Individuals with hearing loss had 3.21 times higher odds of low educational attainment (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.20-4.68) compared with normal-hearing individuals. Controlling for education, age, sex, and race, individuals with hearing loss had 1.58 times higher odds of low income (95% CI, 1.16-2.15) and 1.98 times higher odds of being unemployed or underemployed (95% CI, 1.38-2.85) compared with normal-hearing individuals.
Conclusion:
Hearing loss is associated with low educational attainment in U.S. adults. Even after controlling for education and important demographic factors, hearing loss is independently associated with economic hardship, including both low income and unemployment/underemployment. The societal impact of hearing loss is profound in this nationally representative study and should be further evaluated with longitudinal cohorts. Received institutional review board approval (National Center for Health Statistics Institutional Review Board Protocol no. 98-12).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
Unrenewable Cells
Photoreceptors
The retina is composed of several layers and contains specialized cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors (rods and cones) change their membrane potential when stimulated by light energy. There are two types of photoreceptors—rods and cones—which differ in the shape of...
Impact of Social Context on Individuals
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and...
Impact of Groups on Individuals

